Consider the following events and arrange them in correct chronological order.

Question

Consider the following events and arrange them in correct chronological order.

1. Acquisition of Awadh by the British

2. Ilbert Bill Controversy

3. Indigo Revolt

4. Second Anglo-Afghan War

Select the correct answer from the code given below:

1. A. 1, 3, 4, 2 (Correct answer)
2. B. 3, 1, 2, 4
3. C. 3, 1, 4, 2
4. D. 1, 3, 2, 4

Correct Answer

Option A — 1, 3, 4, 2

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is 1, 3, 4, 2.

Key Points

• 1. Acquisition of Awadh by the British — 1856. Annexed by Lord Dalhousie on the ground of misgovernance; the deposition of Wajid Ali Shah was a major cause of the 1857 Revolt.
• 3. Indigo Revolt — 1859-60. The revolt of Bengal's indigo cultivators.
• 4. Second Anglo-Afghan War — 1878-1880. Fought under Lord Lytton, following his "forward policy".
• 2. Ilbert Bill Controversy — 1883. Under Lord Ripon; the Bill sought to allow Indian judges to try Europeans, and the furious European opposition to it taught Indians a lesson in organised agitation.
• Order: 1 → 3 → 4 → 2, option (a).

Additional Information

• Lord Lytton (1876-80) is remembered for the Vernacular Press Act (1878), the Arms Act (1878), the Delhi Durbar of 1877 during a severe famine, and reducing the maximum age for the civil services examination from 21 to 19.
• Lord Ripon (1880-84) repealed the Vernacular Press Act, passed the first Factory Act (1881), introduced local self-government (1882) — earning him the title "father of local self-government in India" — and appointed the Hunter Commission on education.
• The Ilbert Bill agitation is widely regarded as an immediate stimulus to the founding of the Indian National Congress in 1885 by A. O. Hume.
• The Doctrine of Lapse states annexed by Dalhousie: Satara (1848), Jaitpur and Sambalpur (1849), Udaipur (1852), Jhansi (1853) and Nagpur (1854). Awadh, by contrast, was annexed on grounds of maladministration, not lapse.